Three Weeks

Every three weeks the various bloggers listed below post a stitch along update. We are each working on our own projects, but we share the progress that we have made since the last update three weeks ago. The last time that I shared Santa for this stitch along he looked like this.

I have now finished the gift tag and started on the rest of the gift.

I am really very happy with the progress that I have made in the past three weeks. 

I have been reading the Nicholas Sparks book "Three Weeks with my Brother". It is sort of a memoir as well as a travel log of the three weeks he spent on a trip around the world with his brother, Micah. I am finding it very interesting.

I have to thank Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting this Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other talented bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. You will see a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post. 

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, 

Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan,

 Deborah, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy,

 AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen  

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Snow Day!

It was a weekend snow day yesterday. We got about 16 inches of snow and it was very windy all day. We didn't have to clear the deck, the wind did it for us. This is a photo from the morning before the snow really piled up.

The first thing I did was make the filling for Individual Freezer Chicken Pot Pies. Hubby starts teaching for the spring semester at a local university this week and I like to have these pot pies on hand for a hearty dinner. 

While I was waiting for the filling to cool in the fridge, I decided to work on the Log Cabin Star quilt. This is where I was when I started yesterday.

By the end of the afternoon I had added two "logs" on each square. 

You can see that I keep a completed sample block nearby to minimize mistakes. I still seem to be using the seam ripper a lot, because I want to make sure that the blocks are the right measurements with each round. I have one more round of logs for these blocks that I will probably work on today.

 

I am hoping that I can start making some significant progress on this quilt that will be for my daughter and her husband. Speaking of my daughter, today is her birthday! 

Hubby and I had been thinking of traveling to Boston this weekend to celebrate with her, but a "little" snowstorm interrupted that plan. Wasn't she a cutie on her first day of nursery school many years ago?

This is the latest photo that I have of her. 

She was a bridesmaid in a wedding on New Years Day.

I have been busy adding rows to the Baby Elephant Afghan.

 I will be starting its eyes on the next row. I have 27 more rows to complete before I start the borders.

I have mastered the stem stitch well enough to work on the saying on the apron. 

I am finding the stitching slow going though. I am glad that I left the background cross-stitch for the end. I have something to look forward to working on. Hopefully, I can finish the rest of the saying this week. 

I have also been working on Santa. You can find an update for him in the next blog post. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. Santa will be getting my attention today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Stitching and Reading

I have once again had a fairly active crafting and reading week. I have been reading quite a lot lately. I recently finished several books. First, I read "The Bookseller" by Cynthia Swanson. 

This is a somewhat strange book that goes back and forth between dream and reality. It is quite interesting though and I did enjoy reading it. 

Following that book I read "Her Heart for a Compass" by Sarah Ferguson. 

I had absolutely no expectations for this book except that it was recommended by another blogger. Well, I just loved this book. It followed the adventures of a Lady Margaret Montagu Scott in Victorian England and it was thoroughly entertaining.

I then decided to read the 8th book in Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove series. 

It was nice to return to catch up on the characters of this series.

Yesterday I finished reading "Forbidden Falls" by Robyn Carr. 

This book is part of the Virgin River series and boy did I love this book. I just couldn't put it down. It was great to revisit some well loved characters and meet a few new ones. I am sorry that I finished it so quickly, but that tells me it was a really good book. Now I have to find another book to read.

You would think with all that reading, that I didn't get much crafting done, but I actually made progress on several crafts. 

First, the Baby Elephant Blanket has been getting a lot of attention lately. 

I have figured out a way to keep the various colored yarns from tangling and it makes crocheting it much more enjoyable. You can see the various strands at the top of the photo

I have started stitching the gift tag on Santa. There are a lot of color changes and some white that you might not be able to really see, but trust me it is there. 

I want to finish the tag and then move on to stitching more of the gift itself.

I have also made progress on the apron that I am cross-stitching. I finished stitching the wine bottle. Now I am up to embroidering the lettering for the saying.

 I had to watch a video the other day after messing up my first attempt at the stem stitch needed for the saying. I understand it better now, but after taking out the stitching I had already done, I wasn't ready to start again. I will get back to that on Monday most likely. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I think Santa needs some attention today.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Crafting Away

From the very long list that I published a couple of weeks ago, I have settled on 4 or 5 projects to consistently work on right now.

Santa is taking priority as I have been working on him for quite a while and I want to know that he is done for next Christmas. As you can see, I have added to the red ribbon at the bottom of the gift below that diamond that will be the gift tag..

I have added several rows to the Baby Elephant blanket. You can see the beginning of its trunk and the ears are very noticeable now.

This apron is a project that I do at work when I don't have any students to help. 

I didn't have two of the recommended colors and didn't feel like shopping for them when I have so much other floss so I substituted. I found this site to help me make the substitutions. Usually the first or second recommended color works well. When this is finished I will find another small project to work on. I have several stashed away. 

I took out October Morning to work on also.

 I have been working on this for a very long time. My mother started it years ago, but didn't enjoy cross-stitch. Unfortunately, I had to frog all of her work as she used the wrong color floss and didn't follow the chart. I would say that it is about 1/3 completed. I have added some confetti stitches in recent weeks so the progress is hard to see. You might notice the yellow flowers scattered by the fence.

Finally, I want to work on the Log Cabin Star quilt I am making for my daughter and her husband. I haven't added anything to it since last summer, but I am hoping that if I know it is on the rotation list, I will at least make the attempt to go to the basement and add a few more rows. Hmmm, I know that I had to clear off my sewing table again. Isn't that always the way? We were experiencing bitterly cold temperatures yesterday with a steady wind, so that was yesterday's clean-up project. Now I am ready to sew whenever I put my mind to it.

 My son is here for the weekend again. He moves to CA on Wednesday, so I am not sure how much stitching is going to happen this weekend. When he was here last weekend I decided I wanted to celebrate his birthday (didn't know he would be back with us this weekend). We haven't been together for his birthday for a few years now and I know he will be alone this year too. I made him a small chocolate cake and Hubby and I sang Happy Birthday. 

We will enjoy every moment we have with him this weekend as we probably won't see him again until just before his wedding in April. 

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I might add some stitches to Santa today. 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

First Stitch Along update of 2022

 Friday was a Snow Day for me. I put away all of my Christmas decorations except for the village which I put away on Saturday. I was also able to add some stitches to the Santa Stocking. This is where Santa was for the last update.

The cross-stitching on one of Santa's arms is now completed. I have moved on to the other arm and more of the gift. 

I am finally using the scroll-frame stand that I received as a birthday present last year. 

Our son is visiting again this weekend as his moving company packed up all his belongings on Friday. They were supposed to come tomorrow, but when he called to confirm they stated that they were coming on Friday instead. That was definitely not what he expected. He is moving from King of Prussia, PA to Carlsbad, CA. He will be starting a new job and finally be able to live with his fiancee. They are getting married in April. 

A big "Thank you" to Avis at Sewing Beside the Sea for hosting this Stitch Along every three weeks and sending us the needed posting reminders.

Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and take some time to visit the other talented bloggers below who are part of this stitch-along. You will see a wide variety of stitching projects. These talented stitchers are from all over the world so please allow for the time differences and check back for each post. 

Avis, Claire, Gun, Constanze, Christina, Kathy, 

Margaret, Cindy, Heidi, Jackie, Sunny, Megan,

 Deborah, Renee, Carmela, Sharon, Daisy,

 Anne, AJ, Cathie, Linda, Helen  

Thanks for stopping by!

 

2022 Crafts

Hmmm, what will I be working on in the coming year? 

I definitely want to finish the Santa Stocking. I have been adding white stitches to Santa's cuff. It is hard to see the progress. This is what it looks like as of yesterday. 

Please excuse the dark photo. We have had cloudy, rainy weather for days and days and days.....

I also want to finish the Baby Elephant Blanket. This is where it is at the moment.

I plan to get back to stitching October Morning 

and Three Boats. I haven't worked on this since April. Wow!

I really want finish piecing the Timberline Log Cabin quilt for my daughter and son-in-law. 

I think I will call it the Log Cabin Star quilt from now on.....I have to remember that. There are an awful lot of blocks to stitch. There are 11 completed and 10 in progress right now.

It would be nice if I could sandwich my mother's Overall Sam and do the big stitch quilting similar to what she did on her Sunbonnet Sue quilt.

 This will not be at the front of the line, but something I do want to pick up and work on every once in a while. I still have to use my seam ripper so I can line up the bottom right block a little better. 

I have a sweater that I started a few years ago that I want to finish....I think. I have to do some math as my vertical gauge is off and it will affect the armholes. I am hoping that I can figure it out on my own. I haven't worked on it since October 2019. Wow, that seems like a lifetime ago. I was really enjoying the knitting until I realized I had to make adjustments. I do not claim to be an accomplished knitter. 

I also want to start a Christmas stocking for my future daughter-in-law. I have the pattern picked out and the fabric and flosses all purchased. Again, this is not a must for this year, but it certainly would be nice. I will have to figure out how to add her name to the top, but that should not be a problem.

Oh there are so many, many other crafts that I really want to do also: 

Christmas table runners for me and my kids and someday a new tree skirt.

Finish quilting a pink baby blanket that my mother pieced.

A cross-stitch Santa kit my son bought for me.

A cross-stitch snow-globe piece for my daughter.

Knit a sweater for my daughter

A fractal quilt that my son gave me the pattern for a couple of years ago.

Uh oh, my mind is spinning. Okay, I will stop now. It looks like I am going to have a very busy 2022! I am so looking forward to all that crafting.

I am joining Kathy for some Slow Sunday Stitching. Pop on over to her site to see what other bloggers are stitching. I will be working on the Santa Stocking.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Wishing all of my readers a Happy and Healthy New Year!